Always Loving You (Danvers #6)(30)
“You’re impossible,” Ava groaned as she walked through Emma’s office and into her own. She took a few moments to give Emma a run-through on what had happened with Mac yesterday and then this morning.
When she was finished, the other woman looked as though she was deep in thought for a moment before asking, “So, what’s next on your list? By the way, you look awesome in that dress. I bet Mac almost swallowed his tongue when he saw you.”
“Um . . . thanks. I’m not sure what’s next, though. I need to give it some thought.”
Looking excited, Emma ran to her desk and picked up a piece of paper, waving it in the air. “I’ve got ya covered. I saw this on the bulletin board at the grocery store last night and thought of you.”
Ava took the paper from Emma’s hands. Her eyes widened as she read the large print: LEARN TO HANG GLIDE. “Are you crazy! I can’t do that. People end up plastered on the sides of mountains or buildings doing that.”
Emma giggled, holding up a hand and waggling a finger at her. “No, no, that’s the beauty of the whole thing. You don’t actually have to go through with it. You can go for the free seminar they’re offering. Mac usually makes his rounds in the evening before he leaves Danvers, so I’ll get Ella or one of the other girls to join me in a fake conversation about your newest hobby so that Mac can overhear. I’ll make it sound really good and dangerous. That should be enough to push him off the deep end without you having to actually break your neck. Whatcha think?”
Staring at her future sister-in-law, Ava felt a grudging admiration for her deception skills. She was both impressive and scary sometimes. Poor Brant, he would never be able to sleep with both eyes closed again. “That’s not bad,” she admitted. “It would be nice to have one new fearless sport that I didn’t really have to fear.”
“Cool!” Emma enthused. “Because I already signed you up online. Your class is on Wednesday at seven. That gives me a couple of days to give Mac the four-one-one on your new death wish.”
Ava grimaced but gave a resigned smile. Even if it seemed crazy, she was at her best when she had some kind of plan in place. Just as a backup, though, she vowed to hit the store at lunch and buy another armful of magazines. She had a feeling that she was going to need new ideas . . . fast.
Chapter Eleven
“I’d love to be your partner, gorgeous. It would be my pleasure to help you get into a harness.” Ava cringed as the man sitting next to her in her hang gliding class continued to spray her with verbal diarrhea. From the moment she had taken her seat an hour ago, he had attached himself firmly to her side, and no matter how much she tried to deter him, nothing seemed to work. He was starting to make her uncomfortable as some of his comments veered toward being sexual and inappropriate.
Aggressive men, especially strangers, tended to throw her back to a dark place in her life, and she felt her pulse quicken as the man trailed a fingertip down her arm. She jerked away, giving him a frown and turning her body sideways to escape the unwanted attention. Just when she thought she would be forced to flee before the class ended, the instructor called an end to the evening and Ava bolted out of her seat. When the man followed her out of the room and into the parking lot, she said over her shoulder, “I’ve got to run, my husband is waiting on me at home.” She hoped that if he thought she was married, he’d back off.
His eyes dropped to her hand. “I don’t see a ring on those pretty fingers. It looks like someone likes the chase.” Moving so that he was blocking her car door, he stared at her breasts, making her feel sick.
“Plea-please,” she stuttered. “I’ve got to go.” She felt herself going into full-blown panic mode. All she could remember was what had happened to her last time, so many years ago, when another man hadn’t taken no for an answer. In the moment, she was reduced to a teenage girl again at the mercy of someone bigger than her. As she was backing away, a cab pulled up to the curb and without thinking, Ava turned and ran toward it. She heard someone yelling behind her, but she didn’t turn.
“You call for a cab, miss?” the driver asked as she huddled in the middle of the backseat.
“Ye-yes.” She gave him her address and sat trembling on the seat. When they pulled up in front of her apartment, she looked around for her purse before realizing that she must have dropped it somewhere. Oh God, she didn’t have money to pay her cab fare. Digging through her pockets, she was relieved that she had stuck her keys in them instead of in her bag. “I . . . eh . . . Could you wait here while I go inside for money? I don’t have my bag.”
The cabdriver looked at her for a moment before giving her a kind smile. “Don’t worry about it. You look like you’ve had a hard night. Just pay it forward sometime.” Ava felt tears well in her eyes at the kindness she saw on his face. She thanked him profusely before turning across the expanse of concrete with her arms hugged tightly around her body. She was lost in her own thoughts when someone grabbed her arm and swung her around. Suddenly, the face that she had run from only moments ago was back and abject terror tore through her. Her head started spinning and it was only a moment later that darkness descended to claim and protect her.
* * *
Mac had just opened his door to find Gwen unexpectedly standing on his doorstep when his phone rang. He motioned Gwen inside uneasily, noticing that she seemed to be dressed a littler sexier than usual. “Just a second,” he said while he hit the call button on his phone. “What’s up, Jeff?”